Quote:
Originally Posted by Foghut
The trouble is that GPS was designed for use out in the open; like in the middle of the sea or in a desert. It constantly under-performs on the railway because of steel infrastructure, tunnels, and built up areas. The satellite antenna needs to see a large part of the sky in order to perform well, and this frequently doesn't happen on a train.
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A good description, and I agree that GPS isnt anywhere up to the failsafe reliability needed on a railway. But give the inevitable trend in all walks of like to huge centralised automated computer control I begine to imagine the Rail Network becoming like a giant model railway - with DCC control maybe
rather than Block sections signalled from the trackside.
Whether that is the right way forward is another debate, of course.